Mini-Camp Recap and Other Notes

Well, here we are. The OTA’s are over and so is the 3-day mini-camp. Head Coach Gary Kubiak sent his veterans to the video and weight rooms, while the rookies and free agents hit the field. His reasoning was to give the new and younger guys more reps. The good thing with this theory is the starters will be more rested going into training camp, and the young guys will have had the extra work on the field they wouldn’t have gotten while watching the starters practice.

Let’s hope it works. I was doing some reading on the Houston Texans website and found some interesting stuff. I thought I’d bring it here and wrap it all up into one nice little package for you guys.

As Kreno pointed out in the previous entry, while CB Jacques Reeves was great in coverage, he has what seems to be a hard time finding the ball. I figure it’s pretty hard to locate the ball if you don’t turn your head. I found an interesting article here on that. Basically it said that Reeves is working with DB Coach David Gibbs on his technique. Says Reeves:

“”(Gibbs) is a technique freak, and that’s what I need,” Reeves said. “I need to get a whole lot better with my technique, and I think he is going to challenge me at that.”

With improved technique, Reeves thinks he will flourish in defensive coordinator Frank Bush’s new defensive scheme, which will call for aggressive man coverage.

“We are going to play tighter on the receivers, play a few different coverages, confuse offenses more and get after the ball a little bit more,” Reeves said. “Playing tighter on receivers gives me a chance to utilize my speed instead of playing nine or 10 yards off, which doesn’t really give me that opportunity. I get to be aggressive, and that’s what I like to do.”

Reeves also said his #1 goal is to be playing in the post-season, and that’s a goal I can live with.

• • •

Second round pick DE Connor Barwin didn’t practice in the OTA’s due to his college’s late graduation. He reported for mini-camp and impressed the coaches with his speed and athleticism. Says Coach Koobs:

“He’s obviously faster than everyone today. He and J.J. (running back Jeremiah Johnson) were the two fastest players on the field, because all of these other ones have been at it pretty hard. The thing I was impressed with today was watching his strength for a tall, wiry guy like he is. Watching him hit the sled and those type of things, he carries a lot of punch for a 263-pound guy.”

• • •

Monday marked quarterback Rex Grossman’s battle for a spot on the Texans’ roster. Grossman, who signed with the Texans as a free agent on Friday, joined the team for the opening day of mini-camp and will compete against Alex Brink for the third quarterback spot behind starter Matt Schaub and Dan Orlovsky.

“It’s another opportunity for me to be in this league and get to where I want to be,” Grossman said. “I’m going to work as hard as I can and let the chips fall where they may.”

While it’s not real common for teams to carry 3 QB’s on their roster, especially the Texans, GM Rick Smtih said he’s done it before with Denver. Considering Grossman is the only QB on the roster with Superbowl experience, Smith said they might have to find a way to keep 3 on the roster. I think that’s a wise choice, considering Schaub’s injury history.

• • •

One of the big surprises coming out of camp was the play of CB Glover Quin. He showed tremendous potential playing the outside corner spot. He picked off three passes in his first week of OTA’s and continues to impress. In an interview with Texans TV reporter Brooke Bentley, GM Rick Smith says:

“It’s interesting because as we came out of the draft, a lot of people said he didn’t have skills to play on the edge and play corner. A lot of people had projected him at safety. We felt comfortable with his skill set and thought he could play on the edge, and sure enough he came in and did a nice job. We put him inside at the Nickel position. He did a nice job of learning. That’s a very complicated position to play because you have to learn run fits as well as pass, underneath zone coverage – he did a nice job with that. You’re right, though, he made plays on the football more than anybody I have seen in a long time coming in as a rookie.”

• • •

One of the biggest questions all fans were screaming after the NFL draft was “Why didn’t we draft a RB??”

Well, Kubiak addressed that by signing two UFA’s. As it stands now, veterans Ryan Moats and Chris Brown are at the top of the list, but undrafted free agents Arian Foster and Jeremiah Johnson have impressed Koobs. Johnson missed OTA’s because of his school’s late graduation also, but like Barwin, he’s been one of the fastest players on the practice field. The down side is, he reported a little overweight and a bit out of shape. It does not help that has a history of injury problems, suffering a torn right ACL and a dislocated shoulder in college. But he played in every game in 2008 en route to second-team All-Pac 10 honors, gaining 1,201 rushing yards, scoring 13 touchdowns and averaging an outstanding 7.1 yards per carry.

“He’s got good foot quickness,” Kubiak said. “He’s a little overweight; I’d like to see him play about 10 pounds lighter. But when you average seven yards a carry in that conference, you’re a pretty good football player. So hopefully, his shoulder holds up and we go to work and see how he does.”

Foster has shown some obvious improvement since OTA’s began. He left Tennessee ranking second in school history in career rushing yards with 2,394 and as the Vols’ all-time leader with 650 rushing attempts. His last year was spotty, as he finished with 131 carries for 570 yards rushing, but he believes he has the speed and hands to excel in the Texans’ system.

“They are a one-cut system; I’m a one-cut back,” Foster said. “I’m big. I’ve got hands out of the backfield, and they utilize their running backs out of the backfield.”

When asked about the new guys, Koobs said: “When you look at the young guys, I think it’s really going to be important who kind of stands out. Because it’s going to be so competitive, Jeremiah has to get going right now. But we’ll have to see. Obviously, we entered the draft and we did not draft a back, but I think we’ve got some good guys in there.”

• • •

First round pick Brian Cushing has been “tearing it up” on the field in OTA’s and during mini-camp. Said GM Rick Smith when asked about Cushing:

“The first thing is, he belongs. He does not stand out in a negative way. He made some plays and his size and athleticism showed up very quickly. He was able to get his hands on some balls and made some very nice plays as the OTAs progressed, so he looks like he’s going to be a productive player for us.”

I for one am in Cushing’s corner. I hope he continues to impress the coaches. If he can do that, I have no doubt he’ll impress me.

• • •

In other notes, the Texans signed K Kris Brown to a contract extension. He had one year left on his current deal, so this is one headache we don’t have to worry about next off-season. Brown, in his 11th season (8th with Houston) has been outstanding.

The Texans also announced they have signed fourth round pick TE Anthony Hill. Hill has impressed during practice with his hands. Says Koobs: “He’s caught the ball really well. I think that’s kind of been a surprise for us. He knows what he is doing route wise. He’ll get better just through repetitions and understanding exactly the pro game and that type of thing. I think that’s been a bonus. We knew we were getting a physical player, but I think it’s been a bonus that he can run routes pretty good.”

Hill, a Houston native, is the third of our picks to sign, joining CB Brice McCain and Safety Troy Nolan.

• • •

The question was raised as to whether new DC Frank Bush will be running the same defense as his old boss. Here’s what Koobs had to say on the defensive changes:

“Well, the biggest thing–we’re running the same defense. Obviously, we’re doing a lot of things different technique-wise and (defensive coordinator) Frank (Bush) is teaching, as opposed to last year, what (defensive line coach) Bill (Kollar) expects, what (defensive backs coach) David (Gibbs) expects. I think scheme-wise, we’re able to go in there and it all still makes sense to them the way they we’re talking, but how we’re asking them to do it and how we’re asking them to go about their technique has changed. I think players will catch up pretty quickly on that.”

And to wrap things up, here’s what Koobs had to say about the team as a whole after mini-camp:

“We’re a better team. We’re more competitive than we were last year and that’s important because when you’re competitive your team gets better. I told the guys this morning, I talked to them for twenty minutes and I said, ‘You know we can talk about playoffs; we can talk about this, we can talk about that. The bottom line, we’ve got to talk about improvement. Because if we improve, we improve on what we’ve been doing, then we should be in line to reach our goals.’ So the focus needs to stay on us.”

Keep the faith, Coach, we’re all here behind you!!

• • •

So there you have it. I pulled most of this stuff from the Houston Texans website, since that and the Chronicle are my main sources of info just like everyone else. I truly wish we could get inside the huddle, but for now, we get no such perks.

27 Responses

I would like to talk football this time of the morning but you about said it all in this new article…I don’t like this time of year because there are not any games to watch…I live a boring life of vegetable gardening and honey do’s…So i do the next best thing, hunt alligator gar…

I figure you are working this morning or i would take you with me…I am getting too old for this type of fishing and need a younger man to jump them rascals…

You see, i don’t use a rod and reel…Gar don’t much cotton to bait on the end of a hook…I walk a pier, in the early AM, looking for them…They will be nosed up to a pier post eating barnacles…You just position yourself just right and jump on their back and hang on…After a while they get tired and you just drag em to shore…

You can feed a lot of people with just one 75 to 100 pound gar…I prefer to smoke my meat on a wood fired grill…Some lemon butter and garlic just makes it taste real good…

You have a quiet and safe morning…

Lennie

You gotta watch them gar Lennie they are mean little boogers lol…thanks for dropping in…and yes, I’m at work as usual this time of the day lol…~ Crimedog

Thanks for everything that you do, both your “paying” job and helping out Jeremy. These fan blogs really keep me going. At this horrible time of the year (sports-wise), it’s nice to get ANYTHING related football.

Thanks Billy…it’d be nice to get a little help from the Astros too lol…What with the NBA Finals over, the NFL pre-season still a month and half away, man it’s rough. On a high note, the Astros have won a few series in a row lately lol…I love me some Astros too, just not on the same level as our Texans!! ~ Crimedog

Jeremy, Crimedog & any others that have taken charge of this blog. I waited several months before writing this post because I wanted to see how things would work out. Thomas Hilton would be proud of all you guys. Thanks & Thank you TH.

Wow Kreno, thank you very much. You know we hold Thomas up there pretty high, he was a great guy, and he made this thing special. Other than our pure love for all things Texans, it’s compliments and friendships like yours that makes all the time and effort more than worthwhile. I keep trying to explain this to Mrs. Crimedog, but alas, she just doesn’t get it lol…~ Crimedog

I will second Kreno’s remarks. I’m glad the Blog carried on with Fan’s who were here from the beginning of T.H.’s blog, and that is no offense intended towards other Bloggers. I read and comment on all the Texans blogs, but this has remained my ‘Home’ blog. Some of my sarcastic remarks are taken wrong, but sometimes everything has been said and I’m just wanting to leave a comment after reading. You know, CrimeDog, every blog entry doesn’t have to be completely about the Texans. How about your funniest arrest. Not you but the guy you arrested. Or where your from ?

Or what your coworkers think about the blog ?

LOL my funniest arrest, eh? Man there have been so many…and my co-worker is Farooq, he likes the blog lol…I don’t know of any others that are regular readers. And I’m from Houston, graduated from La Porte, live in Katy, work up NW area. I was thinking this morning about doing more personal interest blogs or at least putting a little more flavor in them than stats and x’s and o’s all the time. I’m still relatively new at this, but I’ve fancied myself an amatuer writer for years lol so we’ll see how it evolves. Thanks for the kind words! ~ Crimedog

You do a great job crimedog. The funniest thing to me is when i go to different nfl sites and these cowboy fans still talkin all that smack about the texans like we are back in 2003 or something. They need to open thier eyes and realize that by the time we play them next year in houston that will will have the more talented team, and that they will be the Texans’ new style american girlfriends at that point. can’t wait!!!!

LOL yeah we all hope you’re right! Get ready to duck, you’ve just opened a big ‘ole can of Cowboys fan Texans bashing lol…~ Crimedog

Well crimedog, you being not only a crimedawg but also a “Bulldog” explains alot…I was a Clear Creek Wildcat…I am proud to say that my school, back in them days, kicked La Portes butt in every sport…We were all double A back in the day, not very large schools…The only thing La Porte had going for them was pretty girls and Sylvian beach…Well, Angels did make good hamburgers…

I did get me a gar yesterday morning…It put me out of commission for a while…When i jumped on that thing it damaged my private parts…My wife told me it was no great loss……..

Lennie

My mom went to Clear Creek…how cool…the year I graduated La Porte’s Basketball team went 40-0 on their way to a state championship and we stretched our winning streak over Deer Park to 18 years in Varsity Football. Good times. Hope you recover from the gar incident soon…was it good for the gar at least? LOL Just kidding ya Lennie…~ Crimedog

Sorry to post so quickly again, but there are three videos I watch for inspiration, especially when things get me down or are not going my way….

The 1967 NFL championship game (Ice bowl)… Because it proves people can adapt and overcome adversity when they want too…

The 1969 Superbowl…Because anything is possible even though the odds are against you…

The Earl Campbell highlights from 1978 – 1980…Because one person can make a difference…

It may seem strange but it works for me….

It is Saturday night, have a safe one…

Happy Fathers Day to everyone…

Lennie

Happy Father’s day to you too Lennie, and all the other dads out there!! I was too young to remember the first two, but I remember well the Campbell days…either way I can still appreciate good football!! ~ Crimedog

I also remember pole vaulting in a regional track meet there in ’93. Y’all had a spongy orange track, I think? Anyway, it was pretty nice. I also ran the mile relay that day, and we had a huge lead on y’all going into the last leg only to come up short at the finish line. Tough bus ride home for a teenager.

Oh the spongy track…I remember it well…I graduated in ’87 so that was a bit after me. My sister graduated there in ’92 I think, and my neice a few years ago. GO BULLDOGS!! ~ Crimedog

As a follow up question, ya know like they do sticking microphones and cameras up in the air, have the Texans got much trade bait before starting the cuts ?

Not many teams do much trading at the end of training camp. Unless teams are trading a blockbuster player, which the Texans won’t, most teams aren’t willing to give up anything until they see who gets cut and who’s out there. The Texans are not trading AJ, or Mario, or Ryans, so why would another team give up anything for a Travis Johnson when they might be able to get him off the waiver wire for nothing. So really, unless another team offers us a Troy Polamalu, I don’t see us make any trades either. ~ Crimedog

Reeves got a bad rap, when you look at his receptions and TD’s allowed he performed very well. In my opinion he covers guys as close as anyone stride for stride, he’s rarely out of position while in man coverage. The head turning thing is fixable, he’s a hard worker so I’m sure that will improve.

I’m stoked to hear that Cushing is looking the part in shorts, it’s a good first step. I’ll be super stoked in training camp if he’s as nasty and aggressive as advertised. I hope Cushing is:

There are a ton of things to talk about but I will stick to the DB situation. We all know that Dunta’, DeMeco and Daniels are FA after this season and that it might be difficult to sign all three without hurting our long-term flexibility. We all agree that DeMeco has to be resigned and most agree on Owen Daniels as long as the money doesn’t get ridiculous. Dunta’ is the guy that may end up being let go.

Given the fact that the Texans need to take another step forward this year is why it is worth it to keep Dunta’ for this year instead of picking up a 2nd rounder in a trade. It will be huge for us if Quin proves himself to be a capable starter and either Bennett or Moulden prove to be solid as well to where we could franchise Dunta’ next year and get back a 2nd rounder for him assuming he plays well this year. This would give us some much cheaper options at CB while also giving us an extra 2nd round pick to address some other needs we have. It also allows us to receive Dunta’s solid play this year while not rushing the young guys into service while we are trying to make the playoffs.

The development of one of Bennett, Moulden or Quin into a true starter will be huge in allowing the Texans to resign the other star players and maintain long-term flexibility.

Barring any major injuries I think the Texans may be in store for a Super Bowl run for several years. Let’s just hope Rick Smith isn’t as alienating as he is being reported to be. I’m all for keeping Daniels but we at least have some alternatives for him and am okay with waiting until next year to sign him, however, we need to get DeMeco signed long-term this offseason to not only pay him what he has earned but also make there one less thing to worry about next offseason.

Great stuff Todd…I think by drafting two TE’s RS is already looking at making Daniels expendable if he starts acting like Dunta. Nobody but Dunta made himself expendable. The only ‘must keep’ I see outta the three is Ryans. Of course, I’d love to have all three until they retire. ~ Crimedog

Diles; has stuck since (2006) being drafted in 7th round, don’t expect him to just quit and leave after finishing on IR.

Molden; looked good before injury and just starting his 2nd year.

Bentley; played well in backup role.

Potential Keepers:

C. White; Texans are still thin at Center.

Studdard; They seem to like him for some reason so he’ll probably get this year to prove he’s worth their trust.

On thin ice:

Jacoby Jones; ‘nuf said.

Brink; has to beat Grossman out and even then ain’t guaranteed to stick due to Texans trend of 2 QBs. Brink will likely land on the PS.

Likely cuts:

Brown; finished on IR and has stiff (LOL-pun not really intended) competition this year for backup spot.

McGlover; unless this guy REALLY stands out he’ll probably be a PS guy.

I haven’t really delved into the prospect of ALL possible cuts, just figured I’d take a crack at breaking down Lennie’s list since I don’t think all of them will get cut even though a couple are definite candidates.

I don’t think they will cut Diles or Molden…Because of 2008 injuries they will not be ready for 2010…I put them on IR…Maybe I should have said PUP…

Bentley will get caught up in the numbers game…White cannot play OG and who ever is the back up center must be able to play OG…Studdard will not make it…He has a nasty streak but no skills to go with it…..

The list I made is just something I tossed around…Not much else to do except pick more Okra….

For all you fishermen out there, check the salinity of Galveston Bay…Much longer without rain and there will be no fish to catch…

Lennie

I agree with Bentley and White…though I’d rather keep White than Studdard…not that either would ever start in this league on any other team that’s not injury depleted…~ Crimedog

Q: if we just read and dont comment, do you still get a “hit” or credit?

I had a buddy who i think played on that 40-0 team, as a soph or fr. Didnt start but played a little-Mark E?(He was cruited by Bob Huggins at Cincy but when the new coach came in they butted heads, quit, lost scholarship, a shame.) He went to UHCL with me and played in the school intramural leagues while i ran the IM program while attending. I reffed a lot of hoops in the old pit, too! Worked a game in the new bld and the power kept going out!! The V games was delayed over a 1/2 hr and the crowd was getting antsy! Sure glad the “Men in Black” were there!

I don’t know if we get the hit or not, I’m sure we do…Thanks for the story! ~ Crimedog

The few plays I saw Bentley make last season impressed me. I don’t know if it is strength or technique, but he tackles and drives the runner Backward. DeMeco tackles low and the runner falls forward. I like Ryans but I don’t like his tackling style as a Middle Linebacker.

Hopefully Ryans and Cushing will be making alot more tackles around and behind the line of scrimmage! Whether they fall forward or backwards, imagine if Ryans doesn’t make the tackle at all! I have nothing against Bentley, but I think he might get caught up in the numbers game. ~ Crimedog

I think outa the LBs currently on the roster the ones who’ll likely stick (besides the obvious; Ryans & Cushing) are:

Adibi (Young blood, has continued to show steady progress while battling hard for starting spot and performed well when on the field last year)

Diles (Started last year til injury landed ’em on IR)

Cato June (seasoned veteran and former Super Bowl starter)

Kevin Bentley (standout backup last season and played well on ST)

I think Chaun Thompson, Buster Davis, and Toddrick Verdell (probably a camp body) will get the boot.

I’m not sayin’ Bentley is much more than a high quality backup, but that’s exactly what we need-a veteran, high quality (and versatile) backup LB who can start when/if necessary. I WILL say the numbers rule knocks Bentley out of any starter bids (especially since there’s only 1 open spot and he’d be up against at LEAST 3 other guys-June, Diles, and Adibi-to get it).

Thanks for the break down! Wanna do the offensive line next? ~ Crimedog

I don’t get the “starters are more rested going into training camp” thing. I mean, these are supposed to be elite athletes in superb shape. Why do they need so much “rest?”When I take a “rest” from my exercise routine, I get “worse” not better. The OTAs etc. are mostly non-contact. Why do athletes, supposedly in tip-top physical condition, need “rest” from them?

When they take a rest, they don’t get blown ACL’s and broken bones. I’m not just talking about cardio here. You can’t really compare your resting needs versus your energy output with theirs, considering your age and conditioning level, don’t you think? They’re on a whole other level when compared to the average adult. I also think that in this heat and at the level they play, keeping your superstars in the film room breaking down next season’s opponents isn’t a bad thing. ~ Crimedog

I hope Cushing proves me wrong. I will admit I wasnt a big Cushing fan because of all of his injuries that he has had and didnt know if he could stay healthy. I did like him more than Matthews because he has a much bigger upside if he can stay healthy since he is more athletic. Plus I was hoping of a 1-2 punch of Andre Johnson and Jeremy Maclin but they passed on him. I enjoy draft nights and today is the NBA Draft night so I am ready! Hopefully the Rockets can make a move to get Wayne Ellington or Taj Gibson.